Thank you Harry Aoki – you bring a special presence with your
incredible support for the Joy Kogawa House, and you ethno-musical
knowledge, your bass and your harmonica.

Thank you Charlie Cho, you kept us on track and we were s-m-o-o-t-h!

Thank you Carl Schmidt, you made us sound great, looked after us on stage! WOW!

Thank you to our dedicated volunteers from Ricepaper Magazine and
Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. You are our face to the
public when they arrive, check in, buy our raffle tickets, and deliver
their prizes. You are truly special.

Thank you to our audience members for being so attentive and
appreciative of our show. Special thanks to Mayor Sam Sullivan
for reading a Chinese poem and giving a warm Vancouver welcome.
More special thanks to Ellen Woodsworth, Jaime Edwards, Heather Deal,
Peter Ladner and Emma “McChan” for each reading a verse of Robbie
Burns' immortal poem about equality – “A Man's A Man For All That.”

Thank you to our many sponsors for prizes… that really reflect our
intercultural and multicultural society! Especially to Joseph
Roberts and Common Ground for sponsoring our head table and posters,
and to Sandhill Wines for providing wine for our event, and to Firehall
Arts Centre for selling our tickets and mailing them out to our
patrons. Thank you to Floata Restaurant for making our haggis dim
sum, and providing a wonderful venue for our event.

During the Japanese Canadian internment during World War II, the only musical instrument musician extraordinaire Harry Aoki had time to take with him was the harmonica. This was the poignant anecodote that Todd related to us just before Harry performed Stardust on the harmonica at Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2007. Excuse the poor quality of the video but the performance was so heartfelt and moving that I think it transcends the quality of the video from my N93 Nokia cameraphone (lesson learned: need to get closer and/or better lighting!).

Firehall Arts Centre's “The Blue Light” final weekendWhy would a Japanese film maker write a play about a
German film maker linked to the Nazis of WW2… because she can, and
because the content is incredible.

It's the final weekend for The Blue Light, written by Mieko Ouchi, an
artist from Edmonton. It's directed by Donna Spencer and has been
recieving good reviews in the media, especially for the acting of
Gabrielle Rose in the lead role

“…the script Ouchi has crafted is truly remarkable. She effortlessly
handles the time shifts and larger-than-life characters residing in her
work.” Garth Paulson, Calgary Gauntlet

“Ouchi’s script illuminates the struggle of a
woman to succeed where few others could, taking each opportunity as it
presented itself.” Eve Marie Clarke, See Magazine

Delve into the theatrical examination of a
woman who danced one perfect dance with the devil and changed the way
films are made. Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most remarkable and
controversial female artists of the 20th century. Dancer, actor,
photographer and filmmaker, Riefenstahl caught the eye of Adolf Hitler
with her prodigious first film: The Blue Light. A cinematic innovator,
her choice to direct the propagandist film Triumph of the Will got her
blacklisted as a filmmaker. She died in 2003 at 101, unrepentant and
mostly forgotten, still naive or perhaps not. Is the artist responsible
for the negative influence their work may have over viewers? The Blue
Light questions the often-unacknowledged dark side of artistic
experience and causes the viewer to look deeper into what art and media
may ask us to believe.

THE BLUE LIGHT Performance Schedule: Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 2PM, Wednesdays at 1PM.